{Allergies} Milk, It Doesn’t Do A Body Good

We visited the allergist for a six-week follow up after the grueling skin test that left us in shock. We learned that Q is allergic to every single grass, weed, tree, plus dust and mold, a couple of animals, and every tree nut. Gah!

They don’t routinely test for foods during the first round of tests, but I had them check for tree nuts (but not peanuts, which are technically a legume, not a nut) and milk.

We’ve phased out all the foods in our home that definitely contain tree nuts and we’re working on getting rid of those that may contain tree nuts or are processed in a facility with tree nuts.

I really wondered if we needed to eliminate these products that may or may not have possibly been contaminated. When I asked the allergist said yes. She said that a study was conducted on products that do not have peanuts but are made in facilities or on equipment which might handle peanuts and 25% had at least trace amounts of peanuts. She said that although these tests weren’t conducted for tree nuts, the same probably holds true. And if Q was only allergic to one type of tree nut, the list of products to avoid might be shorter. But given that she’s allergic to ALL of the tree nuts, well, best to avoid ALL possible sources of them.

Ugh!

Like the muffin mix I buy. Or the small Hershey’s chocolate bars (but not all sizes). Or granola bars.

Looks like I need to start making more of these from scratch. What a pain in the arse.

At our initial visit we decided to get rid of the tree nuts and start a couple of meds as our first step. Well, we’re ready for the next step: eliminating milk.

The reality is that even though she tested positive for milk, doesn’t mean she can’t tolerate it.

So after talking with the allergist today, we’ve decided that we are going to try to see if milk affects her. We’re going to eliminate ALL milk form her diet for two weeks. If at the end of the two weeks we see no difference, she can have it again. If we do see a difference, we can start adding back in milk products one by one to see if she can tolerate any of them.

It’s kind of a lousy time of year to do it. But is there ever a good time?

The doctor suggested starting the day after Thanksgiving instead of immediately.

For two weeks I’ll have to read every single label, probably make a lot of home-cooked food (or packaged food with nutrition labels), and send her lunch in every single day.

I hope there aren’t a lot of birthdays and parties at school in those two weeks. (Note to self: try to find a yummy milk-free treat that I can stock at school as an alternative).

And forget the Advent calendar chocolates! (Which, by the way, I purchased without reading the label and wouldn’t you know they are made in a facility with stupid tree nuts!)

But I’m going to be Q’s partner in this. I’m going to eliminate milk right alongside her. I don’t drink milk (my eyes would swell if I downed a glass), but I do have cheese and butter and milk that’s an ingredient in recipes. I wonder if I will see a difference in myself.

Further Reading

Rice and coconut milk are great milk-substitutes. Depending on how sensitive she is, you’ll have to be really careful eating out as well — the butter that some restaurants cook their meat with makes my sister react. Also, watch for lots of different names of milk in packaged / prepared foods. You will be surprised at the places you’ll find milk products 🙁 Hugs to you both — it’s a tough thing to eliminate foods.